MU men’s hoops opening night preview story

Roomates, teammates, friends.
That’s a connection on and off the court between Monmouth University basketball redshirt junior guard Dion Nesmith, the former football transfer from Northeastern, and sharp shooting senior point guard Jesse Steele, a former Monmouth walk on who began playing his college basketball at Army.
“We’ve been roommates the past three years so we know each other very well,” Steele said.
The pair, who ended last year with a flourish, will be Monmouth’s starting back court Friday night when the Hawks launch their 2012-13 season at 7 p.m. Friday vs. Hofstra of the Colonial Athletic Association in a non-conference game at the MAC.
Steele is Monmouth’s returning leading scorer (12.6 ppg.) and Nesmith, No. 2 (9.0 ppg.). Nesmith was named to last sesason’s All-Northeast Conference Rookie Team.
They each averaged between 13-14 ppg. when Monmouth won nine of 12 games to close the regular season.
In that run Steele shot 38 percent from deep and Nesmith a remarkable 58 percent from downtown, including two 6-for-7 showings.
“Jesse and I started to jell off each other’s game towards the end of the year,” Nesmith said. “We feel over the summer we feel we’ve gotten better. We want to keep that going throughout the season.”
They agree their off the floor relationship lends itself to boosting their play on the floor.
“It helps a lot trusting each other, ” Steele said . “Coach (King Rice ) talks about that a lot. If we trust each other off the court we trust each other on the court. If you have a friend off the court he’s going to be your friend on the court.”
Steele said this year Rice has asked him to be a distributor as well as point producer.
“Coach has talked to me about being more of a facilitator this year and getting other people open shots,” Steele said. “I’ve been been working on it so we’ll see how it goes.’
Rice said he’s looking forward to both guards having “big time” years.
“They’re both in great shape,” Rice said. “They know what I need from them and they’ve been working extremely hard.
“Jesse is a better leader this year. Dion is in much better shape and he’s leading better and being great on defense. They’re veterans now of what we do.”
Steele said he can’t wait for tonight. “My last year, got to get it done this year,” he said.
Hofstra won only 10 games a year ago, two less than Monmouth. It has been bolstered by a slew of new faces and transfers though not all of them will be in action Friday due to eligibility/disciplinary reasons.
“Hofstra is very athletic, I know their staff really well,” Rice said. “They like to get after people, they’re going to pressure you, try to get up and down the floor.
“It’s a tough, tough match up for us but it’s one of those games where we feel we have to play teams like this to help us get better.
“I want our kids to play tough, play hard, share the ball, and we’ll see where we are after the game.”
tonygsports@aol.com

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About Tony Graham

Long time Asbury Park Press reporter of local high school and collegiate sports. Proud Phan of the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Rrebouding still going to be an issue,,though a healthy Marcus may ease that somewhat…aside from him there are really no physical big bodies ..having said that frosh frd Ty O”Garro is noted as a rebounder….so we’ll see how much time he gets and if he makes a contribution…

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Josh Newman on Monmouth University and local college athletics

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Josh NewmanJosh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004, covering a variety of high school beats in addition to college sports and the New York Jets. A 2004 graduate of Springfield College, he is currently the beat reporter for Monmouth University.E-mail Josh

Sherlon ChristieSherlon Christie is a sports reporter at the Asbury Park Press. He joined the APP in the fall of 2004. He grew up in Massachusetts, has a BA in Journalism from Northeastern University's School of Journalism. He is also the secretary of the National Association of Black Journalists.E-mail Sherlon

Steve EdelsonSteve Edelson has been covering the area sports scene for more than 25 years. And while he has chronicled the accomplishments of many athletes, he's still patiently waiting for his first hole-in-one.E-mail Steve

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How I feel about the departures of Dion Nesmith and Marcus Ware

A good move, King Rice needs to look to the future with younger players who are :"his" recruits (57%, 67 Votes)

Not a good move, they would have been fifth year seniors who may have helped significantly (31%, 36 Votes)